In the games

Generation III

In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, the Rustboro Gym is a simple field full of rocky walls and a small amount of members. There are no significant puzzles in the Gym, although Trainers can walk behind the members of the Gym and skip directly to battling Roxanne if they wish to do so.

Generation VI

In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the Gym is redesigned to look similar to a museum with fossils and other rocks on display. Much like in Generation III, the Gym is a maze where the Trainers lie in wait, with Roxanne waiting at the end. Once again, it is also possible to skip the other Trainers to facing Roxanne.

The Pokémon Trainers' School and the Rustboro Gym are connected in many ways. Most of the matches are filmed, so the students can watch and study actual Gym battles to learn more about them. Also, a few students work in the Gym as interns to gain valuable experience as Trainers. Some of the jobs are to clean the battlefield, film the matches, and act as a referee.

The next Pokémon Roxanne used in her battle with Ash was her signature Pokémon, Nosepass. Since Pikachu had not much experience in using Iron Tail, as he had only recently learned it, he was initially not able to use it effectively against Nosepass. Eventually, however, Pikachu managed to perfect Iron Tail and used it to defeat Nosepass, earning Ash the Stone Badge.

In the manga

Rustboro Gym in Pokémon Adventures

In the Ash & Pikachu manga

Rustboro Gym appeared in Trust In Each Other!!, where Ash challenged Roxanne to a Gym battle. The battle occurred much like in the anime, with Ash's Treecko first falling to Roxanne's Geodude due to its lack of Grass-type moves. Geodude was then defeated by Pikachu. Pikachu then faced Nosepass, who proved to be a powerful opponent, but eventually even it was defeated, winning the battle for Ash.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Rustboro Gym appeared in Blowing Past Nosepass I and II. Sapphire entered the Gym, looking for a Gym battle, only to find out that the challengers must take a test testing their knowledge on different aspects of Pokémon battling, and cannot challenge the Gym Leader unless they pass. Roxanne will only fight one challenger per week.

Sapphire eventually passed the test with a perfect score, and was allowed to challenge Roxanne. At first, Roxanne's Nosepass had an advantage over Sapphire's Rono, due to its Magnet Pull restricting Rono's movements and preventing it from leaving the battle. Finally Sapphire figured out that since Nosepass can only face north, she could strike it from behind, allowing her to defeat the Compass Pokémon and earn the Stone Badge.